Share Your Best Pizza Dough...

jpaul · 24 Feb 2018 at 18:33

that articles a bit confusing - for neopolitan (more soggy) pie need fresh or rejuvinated fridge moz, for New York keep with fridge moz,
I don't think I have a source for genuine fresh (not close to Jodie Schekter's farm) or, necessarily, the heat in the stone ~500C to cook an imitation neopolitan.
- not sure why he tried freezing it that was clearly bad news.

[one of those rare interesting moments last week Jimmy's superrmarket secrets showed mascarpone being made, super high fat cream + lemon juice]

edit looks like I would need a uni-3 to make 500C

FrenchTart · 24 Feb 2018 at 19:07

jpaul said:
that articles a bit confusing - for neopolitan (more soggy) pie need fresh or rejuvinated fridge moz, for New York keep with fridge moz,
I don't think I have a source for genuine fresh (not close to Jodie Schekter's farm) or, necessarily, the heat in the stone ~500C to cook an imitation neopolitan.
- not sure why he tried freezing it that was clearly bad news.

[one of those rare interesting moments last week Jimmy's superrmarket secrets showed mascarpone being made, super high fat cream + lemon juice]

edit looks like I would need a uni-3 to make 500C

With a modified electric oven you can get uni-3-like results (minus the smoke flavours).

Regarding the moz... yes, what you say is right. However, rejuvenating cheap store-bought fresh moz massively improves the taste, texture and water-retention of it. I actually prefer this for my oven-baked pizzas as compared to semi-dry moz.

For a home oven you can get pretty good results with grill mode and a decent pizza steel or cast iron pan. Pre-heat the oven at max temp for an hour. Then grill mode for 10-15 minutes. Make a Neapolitan style pizza and stick it on top of the steel/under the grill. Turn it after 90-120 seconds and take it out a further 90-120 seconds later. If using rejuvenated moz as per the SE method it will have retained enough moisture to be a pretty good faux-Neapolitan-style pizza.

edit: For New York style (which I make far more often if I'm honest) you'll still get good results with the above method. What you end up is essentially half way between New York and Neapolitan. Definitely not as awesome as full on Neapolitan but better than the average New York imo.

Glaucus · 24 Feb 2018 at 20:45

Did you ever put a second heating element in the g3ferrari?

FrenchTart · 24 Feb 2018 at 21:17

Glaucus said:
Did you ever put a second heating element in the g3ferrari?

Yeah - well, I moved the second element already in there (in the bottom) to the top. I've got some pics I'll post up soon. I've not had a chance to go and check the issue with just the original element heating up though.

Up until the second element didn't work I was ready to come on here and claim that it was easy to make the modification. I'm holding off judgment for now but hopefully I can fix whatever dumb mistake I've made. If not, I'll probably order a replacement single 1200W element instead and post up my experiences rewiring + cooking with that.

Glaucus · 24 Feb 2018 at 21:19

FrenchTart said:
Yeah - well, I moved the second element already in there (in the bottom) to the top. I've got some pics I'll post up soon. I've not had a chance to go and check the issue with just the original element heating up though.

Up until the second element didn't work I was ready to come on here and claim that it was easy to make the modification. I'm holding off judgment for now but hopefully I can fix whatever dumb mistake I've made. If not, I'll probably order a replacement single 1200W element instead and post up my experiences rewiring + cooking with that.

Looking forward to it, when I move I'm looking at getting one, but only if the results work. I like neapolitan pizza style, over American.
All though there is room for proper thick pie pizza.

FrenchTart · 24 Feb 2018 at 21:23

Glaucus said:
Looking forward to it, when I move I'm looking at getting one, but only if the results work. I like neapolitan pizza style, over American.
All though there is room for proper thick pie pizza.

Totally. I enjoy all (well, most) forms of pizza. That said, Neapolitan is probably my favourite.

If you manage to buy a new place that isn't an apartment I'd seriously consider the newish Uni pro. Pellet-fed for now with a decent gas option coming down the line. I'm pretty tempted to move to it when I finally buy my own place.

Glaucus · 24 Feb 2018 at 21:27

FrenchTart said:
Totally. I enjoy all (well, most) forms of pizza. That said, Neapolitan is probably my favourite.

If you manage to buy a new place that isn't an apartment I'd seriously consider the newish Uni pro. Pellet-fed for now with a decent gas option coming down the line. I'm pretty tempted to move to it when I finally buy my own place.

Unfortunately gardneless flat (assuming it goes through with no issues)
3or 4 years ago I could have had a house and garden for same price. Oh hindsight.

FrenchTart · 24 Feb 2018 at 21:29

Glaucus said:
Unfortunately gardneless flat (assuming it goes through with no issues)

Ah, damn

To be honest the results you can get with only the basic modifications are still good but if you're like me you won't be able to settle for that and will want to push it as much as you can...

PiKe · 24 Feb 2018 at 22:04

Used this recipe a couple of times when I've made a stromboli, comes out really well.

https://laurenslatest.com/fail-proof-pizza-dough/

I whack up the oven to max and use an upturned cookie tray as a make shift pizza stone.

I put it on grease proof paper so it doesn't make a mess.

FrenchTart · 25 Feb 2018 at 09:49

Just had another tinker with the oven. Both elements now working

Hopefully will have some results to post tonight.

Hedge · 25 Feb 2018 at 13:13

Got some friends visiting next weekend. Is it worth me starting a batch of dough tonight and let if proof all week? Whats the longest I can keep it for in fridge?

Lartyconshayo · 25 Feb 2018 at 13:37

Not an expert but I have kept dough for 5-6 days in fridge no prob. In fact today is pizza night and I have one ball left from last Sunday I'll be using for me.

FrenchTart · 25 Feb 2018 at 13:53

It will get to the point where gluten has been broken down too much by the yeast/enzymes, which means though will expel moisture and become very sticky. It also won't hold it's shape well at all. Oh yeah, and it will start to smell a bit ammonia-y.

However, most of those issues don't really matter for pizza and the dough will taste awesome (up to a point). I think a week is the max I'd ever let it go but it'll be fine up to that point, if a little harder to work with.

FrenchTart · 25 Feb 2018 at 20:52

First go with the modified oven. This thing gives out some heat :eek:

Definitely need to learn how to use it all over again but for a first run I'm pretty happy with what I got. Heated for 10 minutes which got the stone to 440C - definitely not enough given the ridiculous heat of the double element at the top. I'll probably go for 450C/460C next time, which I'd guess is about 11 minutes total. Other little things weren't great too - too much cheese, use of passata rather than crushed tomato and too much dough for the base. I needed to have about 10-15% less of it and knock it down a lot more before cooking.

Total cook time was ~90 seconds.

Anyhow, pics:

Shaped. Can't believe I spent years using a metal peel. Wood is so much easier to work with.

Next time I won't leave so large a lip and will make sure to work more air out of the centre part of the base.

Topped. Too much cheese really and I much prefer crushed tomatoes now I've used them a few times.

Lights off to show both heating elements at work.

Burning on the top but also can see the start of nice leoparding too. Shouldn't be too hard to dial it in.

Bottom too pale. Such a short cook time means you really need to get the stone temperature right.

FrenchTart · 25 Feb 2018 at 20:58

Tagging @Glaucus as he was interested to see the results.

jpaul · 25 Feb 2018 at 21:26

we need a cross-section shot ;
yes - looks like 300g of dough in, what 8" dia ?
Alu has a melting point of 660C so I might start to worry about additonal toppings - does the foil already touch the element ? (google says elements reach 1200F!)

FrenchTart · 25 Feb 2018 at 21:37

jpaul said:
we need a cross-section shot ;
yes - looks like 300g of dough in, what 8" dia ?
Alu has a melting point of 660C so I might start to worry about additonal toppings - does the foil already touch the element ? (google says elements reach 1200F!)

It was more like 210g of dough @ ~63% hydration - still higher than I'd normally do but the batch I'd made was originally intended for regular oven pizza. 8" is probably about right though.

The alu reflector mod is pretty standard but yeah, you do have to replace them every few months. They don't touch the elements unless you place them badly. I've actually read about people having the reflector instantly melt when using higher powered elements but generally it isn't an issue with this particular mod where you simply move one element from the bottom of the oven to the top.

edit: Didn't get a shot of oven rise but will do so next time.

jpaul · 26 Feb 2018 at 12:18

I usually put sliced peppers on pizza - Jalapeños, but searching for a new jar bought some lombardi peppers

so what is wrong with the above ?

On emailing manufacturer they immediately/impressively said colour indicates they are off, explaining the bitter taste I complained about

FrenchTart · 26 Feb 2018 at 12:38

Is it the pale colour that indicates it's off?

jpaul · 26 Feb 2018 at 13:46

Yes

I am very sorry to hear about this problem. The pickles are definitely off as I can see from the colour in the photos. The main reason for this is either an open lid, or as you have noted, the liquid not covering the pickles.

seemingly black and white.